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E. Linacre |
3/'98 |
In Fig 1 below shows the intensity in millimetres per hour during the wettest 0.02% of an average year, i.e. over the wettest consecutive period of 105 minutes (1). It is obviously most in the monsoonal north of Australia, high along the east coast, and least in the arid southern inland. The rate of 70 mm/h, as observed in Darwin, represents a fall of 123 mm over 105 minutes. The area of least intensity is displaced to the south relative to the most arid regions of Australia, because in the northern interior most rain results from short-lived heavy rain events.
Fig 1. Rainfall intensity (in mm/h) in Australia during the wettest 0.02% of the year (i.e. 105 consecutive minutes) (Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology).